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THE AUTO SHOW: President Obama calls for more "targeted investments" in manufacturing and clean energy to provide work for people who were laid off because companies were mismanaged.

"We've got a long way to go, but we're beginning to see a lot of these tough decisions pay out," he says. "If some folks had their way, none of this would have been happening."

"Just want to point that out," he adds. "Right? This plant and your jobs might not exist. There were leaders of the just-say-no crowd in Washington. They were saying, 'Oh, standing by the auto industry would guarantee failure.' One of them called it the worst investment you could possibly make." The crowd boos.

Obama continues: "They said you should just walk away and let those jobs go."

"I wish they were standing here today," he says. "I wish they could see what I'm seeing in this plant." (12:35 p.m.)

President Obama calls out 14 people at the company who won the lottery, as the crowd applauds. "Lunch is on them, by the way." He says they "want to keep on working," despite having come into a lot of money. The person who bought the winning ticket bought his wife a Jeep Grand Cherokee, Obama says.

"He called it a sweet ride. and he's going to pay for new american flags for his hometown. because he loves his country. and he's going to keep coming to work becauase he lives hsi plant and he loevs his worker."

"So don't bet against he American worker," he says, building into a crescendo as his supporters applaud. "Don't bet against the American people."

He concludes: "I have confidence in this economy. We are coming back."

And that's it. (12:38 p.m.)

Read on, after the jump ...

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FROM THE TOP -- President Obama begins his remarks at a Chrysler plant in Detroit -- no jacket, sleeves rolled up -- by acknowledging Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, UAW President Bob King and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. He also mentions Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who is at a funeral.

"It is great to see the work that you're doing and the cars that you're building," Obama says. "Especially when you consider the fact that just over a year ago, the future here seemed very much in doubt."

Obama says the first car he bought was a Grand Cherokee. "I still remember walking into that showroom and driving out in that new car -- it still had that new-car smell," he says. "Everything worked." The crowd cheers. (12:21 p.m.)

The economy is better now than it was at the beginning of his term, President Obama says on the day that the Commerce Department said second-quarter growth had slowed. "That's a welcome sign compared to where we were," he says.

Defending the auto bailout, Obama says that doing nothing "could have meant the end of an industry" that exemplifies the "American spirit."

"That could have all vanished," he says, talking about a worker he met whose father and grandfather worked at Chrysler. (12:25 p.m.)

Without the bailout, 1 million jobs could have been lost, President Obama says. "I refused to let that happen," he says. "Our strategy was to get this company and this industry back on its feet."

Critics of the bailout, Obama says, said: "Well, this is stupid. We shouldn't be helping them."

"And I understand that," he says. "Look, this is a hard decision. I didn't want government to get into the auto business. I've got enough to do. And the politics of it weren't good. You know, your delegation was supportive ... they'll tell you, there are a lot of folks in Washington who said it couldn't be done."

"You are proving the naysayers wrong," he says. "All of you." (12:28 p.m.)

The Cash for Clunkers program "was good" for automakers, consumers and the environment, Obama says. "There is no doubt that the auto industry is growing strong," he says.

2 Comments

Everything about Obama is a lie, he is a lie, what he does is a lie, what he says is a lie. The only hope for our nation is when this disaster called Obama leaves the White House after the election of 2012 and goes home to Chicago for good.